'The Taming Of The Shrew'

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'The Taming Of The Shrew', perhaps the ultimate battle of the sexes, has been performed by our company many times over the years but the very first time was in 1913 at the Midland Railway Institute.

The British Empire Shakespeare Society (Derby Branch), as we were known at the time, performed the play over three nights using an open set, lit from the front - a departure from the footlights typically used at the time. The production utilised scenery painted in an impressionist style and all moves of set and furniture took place in full view of the audience. This, again was a an innovation, though one with its roots in the theatrical style of Shakespeare's time, intended to keep the action of the play flowing continuously, rather than ending each scene with a closed curtain while the stage was re-set.

This would be the last production the society staged until 1920's 'The Merry Wives Of Windsor', the outbreak of World War I curtailing much of their activity in the intervening years.